Described herein are facile, one-step initiated plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (iPECVD) methods of synthesizing hyper-thin (e.g., sub-100 nm) and flexible metal organic covalent network (MOCN) layers. As an example, the MOCN may be made from zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) building units. When deposited on a membrane support, the MOCN layers demonstrate gas separation exceeding the upper bounds for multiple gas pairs while reducing the flux as compared to the support alone.

The present invention relates to a method of generating oxygen. The method addresses the objects of reducing the servicing work and improving the purity of the generated oxygen. According to the invention, the method comprises the steps of: providing an oxygen comprising gas at a primary side of a dense voltage drivable membrane; applying a voltage between a conductive element at the primary side of the membrane and a conductive element at a secondary side of the membrane, the conductive elements being electrically connected to the membrane, wherein a plasma is generated at at least one of the primary side and the secondary side of the membrane, the plasma being used as conductive element.

The invention relates to a catalytic activation layer for use in oxygen-permeable membranes, which can comprise at least one porous structure formed by interconnected ceramic oxide particles that conduct oxygen ions and electronic carriers, where the surface of said particles that is exposed to the pores is covered with nanoparticles made from a catalyst, the composition of which corresponds to the following formula:

A.sub.1-x-yB.sub.xC.sub.yO.sub.R where: A can be selected from Ti, Zr, Hf, lanthanide metals and combinations thereof; B and C are metals selected from Al, Ga, Y, Se, B, Nb, Ta, V, Mo, W, Re, Mn, Sn, Pr, Sm, Tb, Yb, Lu and combinations of same; and A must always be different from B. 0.01 <x<0.5; 0<y<0.3.

A method and apparatus for the oxy-combustion of fuel in an internal combustion engine (ICE) used to power a vehicle includes one or more air separation devices that separate oxygen from the atmospheric air to mix with the fuel and return the nitrogen to the atmosphere and converts the free energy available in the form of waste heat from the engine exhaust gas stream and coolant system on board the vehicle into electrical and/or mechanical energy, which energy is used to separate oxygen from air to eliminate or significantly reduce the volume of nitrogen entering the ICE's combustion chamber, and thereby reduce NO.sub.x pollutants released into the atmosphere and increase the concentration of CO.sub.2 in the engine exhaust stream for capture using an integrated system to compress and increase the density of the captured CO.sub.2 for temporary on-board storage until it is discharged at a recovery station, e.g., during vehicle refueling.

The present invention refers to an oxygen separation device (12, 14) for a pressure swing adsorption system. In order to provide at least one of improved maintenance behavior, longer lifetime and improved energy consumption, the oxygen separation device (12, 14) comprises a gas inlet (18, 22) at a primary side for guiding a flow of oxygen comprising gas into the oxygen separation device (12, 14) and a gas outlet (28, 30) at a secondary side for guiding a flow of oxygen enriched gas out of the oxygen separation device (12, 14), an oxygen separation membrane (78) comprising an oxygen separation sorbent being capable of separating oxygen from an oxygen comprising gas by sorbing at least one component of the oxygen comprising gas apart from oxygen, and a support structure (80) for supporting the oxygen separation membrane (78), wherein the support structure (80) comprises a plurality of support bars (82) being fixed to the oxygen separation membrane (78). The invention further relates to an oxygen separator (10) and to a method of generating an oxygen separation device (12, 14) for a pressure swing adsorption system.

A composite oxygen transport membrane having a dense layer, a porous support layer and an intermediate porous layer located between the dense layer and the porous support layer. Both the dense layer and the intermediate porous layer are formed from an ionic conductive material to conduct oxygen ions and an electrically conductive material to conduct electrons. The porous support layer has a high permeability, high porosity, and a microstructure exhibiting substantially uniform pore size distribution as a result of using PMMA pore forming materials or a bi-modal particle size distribution of the porous support layer materials. Catalyst particles selected to promote oxidation of a combustible substance are located in the intermediate porous layer and in the porous support adjacent to the intermediate porous layer. The catalyst particles can be formed by wicking a solution of catalyst precursors through the porous support toward the intermediate porous layer.

The present invention relates to a method of generating oxygen. The method addresses the objects of reducing the servicing work and improving the purity of the generated oxygen. According to the invention, the method comprises the steps of: providing an oxygen comprising gas at a primary side of a dense voltage drivable membrane (12); applying a voltage between a conductive element at the primary side of the membrane (12) and a conductive element at a secondary side of the membrane (12), the conductive elements being electrically connected to the membrane (12), wherein a plasma (18, 20) is generated at at least one of the primary side and the secondary side of the membrane (12), the plasma (18, 20) being used as conductive element.

An electrochemical cell that receives an inlet stream of air and produces an outlet stream of a high oxygen concentration of gas. The cell is made up of a plurality of layers and preferably a porous electrolyte comprised of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) that allows only oxygen ions to pass therethrough and which is covered on its sides with electrodes comprised of lanthanum strontium manganate (LSM) which in turn are coated with a layer of platinum to aid in the even distribution of the electrical current. An electrical current is passed through the electrodes to produce a voltage difference therebetween. The layers of YSZ and LSM are formed by a sol-gel process.

The present disclosure discloses an oxygen separation membrane with high permeability coated with electroactive materials on both sides thereof in which electronic conductive materials and ionic conductive materials are mixed in an optimal ratio whereby the oxygen separation membrane according to the present disclosure has high oxygen permeability and a good thermal stability. Further the present membrane can be advantageously prepared using a simple process such as Tape casting and using a simple sintering process.

A gas generator comprises a compartment confined by a casing configured to hold an active material generating a target gas in response to thermal activation, and a heater structure configured and arranged to heat the active material for generating the target gas. The heater structure is arranged outside the compartment and heats the active material from at least two sides.